The Pagan view of other religions
The Pagan view of other religions tends to be that they are the right religions for people who choose those religions. We have chosen our spiritual path, and they have chosen theirs. Because many of us believe in reincarnation, we feel that there is plenty of time for people to experience a variety of paths.
Clearly different religions make different truth claims, but there may be a "perennial philosophy" which recurs repeatedly in the voices of people of different paths. It cannot be said that all religions are true, since they make such wildly differing claims; but it can be said that there is truth in all religions, and that there is the possibility of connecting with the numinous/Divine/the deities in every tradition. Nevertheless, Pagans are critical of ideas in other traditions, especially when they denigrate a particular group of people, or espouse values which devalue the Earth (and thus potentially lead to environmental destruction) or are contrary to reason.
Most Pagans do not bring their children up as exclusively Pagan; they may take them to Pagan events & festivals, and bring them up with broadly Pagan values, but they do not indoctrinate their children in Pagan beliefs. [1]
Most Pagans were not brought up as Pagan, so they have usually identified as Pagan in their late teens or early adulthood. Some Pagans identify as Pagan much later in life. Therefore a lot of Pagans have had experience in other religious traditions, either because they were brought up in them or because they joined them for a while in the process of seeking the right spiritual path for them.
Interfaith groups usually contain a few Pagans, seeking to promote understanding of our religion amongst other religions, but we are not interested in proselytising. We do, however, object to attempts by (some) other religions to convert people to their faith.
Our closest "kin" in philosophical terms are indigenous religions, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and much of Unitarianism, Unitarian Universalism, and many Jews and Quakers.
However, the magical tradition from which several modern Pagan traditions have emerged was strongly influenced by the big three monotheisms (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) and of course many of us live in a society whose laws, festivals and customs are based on Christian traditions, so it is inevitable that there will be some influences from the three monotheisms, even if it is something that we are reacting against. Sadly, for some people, this reaction can take the form of rejecting and reviling Christianity. Whilst we reject much of Christian doctrine, there are some useful concepts and spiritual truths in the Christian tradition, and many fine and enlightened Christians willing to engage in dialogue, so it would be a shame to ignore them. Also it's not very spiritual to spend hours moaning about how dreadful another tradition is - I recommend that you focus instead on making your tradition and your spiritual journey the best it can be, and learning from people on other spiritual paths in a spirit of humility, dialogue, and sharing. I think we should remember that much of Christianity is focussed on justice, liberation and love.
One of the biggest issues in interfaith dialogue for Christians is that they believe that the incarnation of Christ was unique. [2] For polytheists, this is a non-issue; gods are frequently incarnated as humans, and humans occasionally ascend to godhood. Examples include Buddha, Aradia, Merlin, Kwan-Yin, and the Dalai Lama (the incarnation of Chenrezig).
Pagans also recognise the great contributions to art, science and philosophy made by people of all religions and none.
Other religions' views of Paganism
- Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery by Stephen Hayes - a very balanced historical article about the differing attitudes to witchcraft over time of different Christian traditions; also makes the distinction between Wicca and ideas of witchcraft as maleficium
- Christian understandings of paganism and witchcraft by Stephen Hayes - another very balanced historical article about differing Christian attitudes to Paganism, both ancient and modern
- A Buddhist view of nature part 1 and part 2 by Mike
- Hindu views of Pagans:
Europe's Ancient Nature Worshippers, The Pagans, Call for a Hindu Alliance
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Pagan revivalists draw inspiration from Hinduism in their quest to reclaim
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Europe's early Pagans used the megaliths, large upright stones, in their rites. Today's neo-Pagans still use stones to honor the masculine Divine, ...
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In nearby parts of Ukraine and Russia, Pagan ritual never ceased. ... It is only one indication of how closely allied these Pagan faiths are with Hinduism. ...
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In Europe, two organizations try to unite the various national groups: the England-based Pagan Federation and the Lithuania-based World Congress of Ethnic Religions
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As Symmachus, a pagan governor of the fourth century ce declared, "What does it matter by which wisdom each of us arrives at truth?
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Hindus are pagans and heathens... that is, according to popular Western English dictionaries.
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Letter: I stumbled across your magazine by accident on the Internet--just in time to see your article on European Paganism and its connection to Hinduism
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Ram Swarup was the perfect link between Hindu Renaissance and renascent Paganism in the West and elsewhere. Thanks to his remarkable culture, to his generosity and sense of humor, Ram Swarup was more than a link. He was a Pontifex, as we say in Latin, a man throwing bridges over different rivers.
Meanwhile, others in the former USSR are turning to Paganism, the land's ... Pagans in both communities are discovering, too, that their ancient heritage is ... www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1997/8/1997-8-13.shtml - 15k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
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Now that we are experiencing a modest Neo-Pagan renaissance in Europe and North America, ...
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Most of what is considered Christian Europe is actually pagan Europe.
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A small but passionate group of devotees of the Gods of the ancient Greek religion
Other religions’ theology
BBC religions section
- Atheism
- The ideas and views of people who don't believe in God.
- Baha'i
- One of the youngest of the world's major religions.
- Buddhism
- A way of living based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama.
- Candomblé
- A religion based on African beliefs, originating in Brazil.
- Christianity
- A highly diverse religion with many different theologies.
- Hinduism
- A group of faiths rooted in the religious ideas of India.
- Islam
- Revealed in its final form by the Prophet Muhammad.
- Jainism
- An ancient philosophy and ethical teaching that originated in India.
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- A Christian-based evangelistic religious movement.
- Judaism
- Based around the Jewish people's covenant relationship with God.
- Mormon
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Paganism
- Contemporary religions usually based on reverence for nature.
- Rastafari
- A young religion founded in Jamaica in the 1930s.
- Santeria
- Afro-Caribbean syncretic religion originating in Cuba.
- Shinto
- Japanese folk tradition and ritual with no founder or single sacred scripture.
- Sikhism
- The religion founded by Guru Nanak in India in the 15th Century CE.
- Taoism
- An ancient tradition of philosophy and belief rooted in Chinese worldview.
- Unitarianism
- An open-minded and individualistic approach to religion.
- Zoroastrianism
- One of the oldest monotheistic faiths, founded by the prophet Zoroaster.
LGBT movements in other religions
See also our Sexuality page, with links to articles and resources for LGBTQI spirituality
Colours of religion
Some fascinating articles about the different colour symbolism of the world's religions:
See also...
1 - A Covenant of the Goddess questionnaire asked: What has been the religious/spiritual training of your children?
(Note: 49% of respondants indicated having no children, so the statistics are for those respondents with children)
Another faith |
9% |
None |
12% |
Your faith |
27% |
Multi-faith |
52% |
2 - Second Spring: Other religions
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